Censored Red Cross card Geneva to Kathmandu

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Censored Red Cross card Geneva to Kathmandu

Postby lepeutb » Wed May 09, 2018 2:07 pm

RED CROSS CARD GENEVA TO KATMANDU

I bought this card recently. It's an answer from the International Red Cross Committee - Prisoners of War Central Information Agency of Geneva. The card was send the 8/01/1940 to Professor W. FILCHNER at Kathmandu. Arrived in India, censored in Calcutta with the handstamp type 1A1 (K. MORENWEISER British Empire Civil Censorship Devices WW2 British Asia 2005).
At the back of the card, the receiving postmark of the nepalese exchange post office of Kathmandu 1996/10/27 (10/02/1940).

I found some informations on the internet :

Professor W. FILCHNER was in Nepal from march 1939 to the end of 1940. He catch malaria in Nepal.
Going to India for treatment, he was interned in India : in Patna in the cottage-hospital, from 1940 until september 13, 1941 in the Parole Camp in Purandhar and from september 1941 until november 1946 in the Parole Camp in Satara. Later on he lived in Poona in the Maharashtra state of India.

This card is an answer of the red cross about the situation of the Professor W. FILCHNER.
The Professor was he a prisoner of war in Nepal? Was he in an hospital or in a jail in Kathmandu? Or was he preparing the documents with the red cross for the time when he was ready to cross to India?

In his book "Nepal postal History", page 168, Wolfgang C. Hellrigl wrote : "While on a scientific mission involving the charting of magnetic fields throughout the country, Prof. Filchner was caught in Nepal by the outbreak of WWII. Although he was on very friendly terms with the Resident of the British Legation, the fact that he was a German citizen could not be ignored and, subsequently, even his christmas mail was subjected to censorship... There were no other "aliens" in forbidden Nepal".

I don't think that there was a camp for prisoners of war in Nepal, specially if Prof. Filchner was the only German in Nepal in 1939.
May be Prof. Filchner was in contact with the Red Cross to know what will be his fate when he will travel to India for malaria treatment. Was the British Legation ordered to send the Prof. Filchner to India?

I am looking for some informations and would be very happy to get answers from members.
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lepeutb
 
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